What the Bears are saying about the Patriots ahead of Monday night showdown
Former Patriots receiver N'Keal Harry, among others, spoke about New England prior to the Week 7 matchup.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots will attempt to pick up their third consecutive victory when they host the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
The matchup also provides Belichick an opportunity to make history, as a New England win will mark No. 325 in the legendary head coach’s career, breaking a tie with Bears founder George Halas for second-most in NFL history (including the postseason).
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus spoke to the media earlier this week about how Belichick has been able to achieve such sustained success.
“[Belichick] is able to take away a guy’s strengths and make you play left-handed, Eberflus said, as transcribed by the Patriots’ official website. “That’s his whole motto of what he’s been able to do. We’ve seen it in the Super Bowls, seen him in playoff games do it and even when he was defensive coordinator of the Giants we saw him do it there. It’s been a stellar career and he’s been able to do that over the long haul.”
Eberflus also spoke about how he is preparing for New England, praising the Patriots’ ability to mix things up both offensively and defensively.
“You have to prepare for all the different packages [the Patriots] bring on offense and certainly on defense,” Eberflus told reporters. “They have a lot of personnel that they bring at you and put a lot of different guys on the field at certain times. You have to be ready for everything. Obviously, they’ve done a nice job of that over the years.”
Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones was not nearly as complimentary of Belichick and the Patriots, telling Mark Carman of CHGO Sports on Thursday that “deflated balls” – a reference to the Patriots’ 2015 “Deflategate” scandal – were the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of the Patriots’ head coach.
“I heard it’s still going on. So I’m going to check [the footballs] before we go,” Jones said. “I’m so serious. I heard it’s still going on so we’re going to see. I’m for sure checking. I play this game with honesty man, you know what I’m saying?”
Another Bears player with added motivation for Monday night’s matchup is receiver N’Keal Harry, albeit for a different reason.
Harry was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2019 draft. He notably struggled in his time with New England, catching 57 passes for 598 yards and four touchdowns across three injury-plagued seasons before being traded to Chicago in July.
After missing the Bears’ first six games due to an ankle injury, Harry could potentially debut against his former team on Monday night.
“I’m trying not to get too caught up in it being the Patriots and it being my former team. I’m obviously excited,” Harry said on Friday. “I’m excited to see some of my guys pregame. I went through a lot with some of those guys that came in with my [rookie] class. So I’m excited to see them, but I’m just excited to get out there finally.”
Also likely returning from injury on Monday is Patriots quarterback Mac Jones, who missed New England’s last three contests with an ankle injury of his own.
If Jones does return and start for New England, the Bears’ defense will seemingly be prepared for him.
Justin Jones said that, while the Alabama product is a “good quarterback,” he tends to struggle against pressure.
“He doesn’t like anyone next to his feet. He throws off of his back foot whenever there is pressure,” Jones said Friday. “If we can get some confusion going on then when he gets confused he throws the game away in my opinion. If he gets in a rhythm then he can hurt us and we have to give him that respect in that aspect. He does have a kryptonite we are going to expose.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com